Blueberry named &#39;Beaufort&#39;

ABSTRACT

Vaccinium corymbosum  Linnaeus ‘Beaufort’ is a new and distinct variety of blueberry that has the following unique combination of desirable features that are outstanding in a new variety. 1. Late midseason ripening, extending the harvest season for fresh market mechanical harvest adapted varieties. 2. Consistent high yields of small to medium size fruit. 3. Very good fruit color, firmness and quality, and a good picking scar. 4. Adaptation to mechanical harvesting for fresh fruit market outlets.

LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES

The Latin name of the novel blueberry variety disclosed herein is Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus.

VARIETY DENOMINATION

The inventive cultivar of Vaccinium corymbosum disclosed herein has been given the variety denomination ‘Beaufort’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus (blueberry) grown as a fruiting woody shrub for commercial agriculture. Blueberries are typically consumed both fresh and in a number of processed products.

The new and distinct variety of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus) originated from the hand pollinated cross of ‘NC 1406’ (unpatented)×‘Pender’ (unpatented) made in 1980 at the North Carolina State University greenhouses in Raleigh, N.C.

Seeds from this hand pollination were germinated in winter 1980/1981 in Raleigh, N.C., and 250 seedlings were established on the North Carolina State University Horticultural Crops Research Station at Castle Hayne, N.C., in 1982. When the seedlings reached maturity in 1987, an elite genotype designated as ‘NC 2901’ was selected for its vigorous erect plant habit, productivity, color, picking scar, firmness, quality and late midseason maturity by James R. Ballington. The cross from which NC 2901 was selected was specifically made with adaptation to mechanical harvesting for fresh market outlets in mind. NC 2901 also possessed another attribute essential for adaptation to mechanical harvest for the fresh market, small to medium fruit size. Three additional cultivars from this cross were previously released by North Carolina State University in 2004, prior to the initiation of submitting plant patent applications for blueberries by this University. These are ‘Craven’ (early ripening), ‘Pamlico’ (early midseason ripening) and ‘Lenoir’ (early midseason to midseason ripening).

During 1988 the original seedling of NC 2901 was propagated by hardwood stem cuttings, and following rooting, single three plant plots were established on North Carolina State University Agricultural Research Service experiment stations located at Castle Hayne, Jackson Springs and Fletcher, N.C., in 1989. Based on its performance in these initial trials, in 1996 it was propagated again by stem cuttings and established in replicated trials at the Castle Hayne Research Station. It was also established in grower trials at Harrells, Ivanhoe, Rocky Point and White Lake, N.C., and at the University of Arkansas Research Station at Clarksville, Ark., in 2001, all under Memoranda of Agreements whereby the growers provided the land and care of the plants and North Carolina State University retained ownership of the variety. Plants and fruit of this new variety have remained true to type through these successive cycles of asexual propagation. This new variety has been named the ‘Beaufort’ cultivar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

‘Beaufort’ is a new and distinct variety of late midseason ripening blueberry that is adapted to mechanical harvest for the fresh market, and extends the harvest season for fresh market mechanical harvest adapted varieties beyond that available with previously released varieties. It has high yield potential, very good fruit quality and fruit color, a good picking scar, very good fruit firmness, and modest fruit size which is a requirement for adaptation to mechanical harvest for the fresh market in North Carolina. Fruit firmness is quite sufficient for mechanical harvest for the fresh market. Post harvest shelf-life was adequate when stored at 50° F. for seven days, but was not quite as good as the other varieties with which it was compared. Plants are vigorous and plant habit upright. Leaves are narrowly elliptic in shape and both the leaf base and apex angles acute. The flowers are not self-fertile but produce abundant pollen for pollinator varieties interplanted with ‘Beaufort’. ‘Beaufort’ averaged 3.0 flowers per inflorescence, and the corolla of individual flowers is white and cylindro-urceolate in shape. The fruit is round-oblate in shape and the calyx not prominent and appressed to the apex of the fruit. ‘Beaufort’ is readily asexually propagated by either softwood or hardwood stem cuttings. It has not had any problems to date with either stem canker or stem blight, the two major diseases of commercial blueberries in North Carolina.

With regard to consistent differences between ‘Beaufort’ and all four of the other varieties with which it was compared, it is later ripening. It was also the only variety in these comparisons where the stem color on the unexposed side (side away from the sun) was yellow-orange, compared to either red or yellow-green for the other four.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs in the drawings were made using digital photography techniques, and illustrates the colors as true as reasonably possible when using these techniques. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description, which accurately describe the colors of the new Vaccinium corymbosum variety. All photographs were taken from plants growing at the Castle Hayne Research Station, Castle Hayne, N.C.

FIG. 1 shows the typical plant habit of ‘Beaufort’.

FIG. 2 shows the typical fruit of ‘Beaufort’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The following is a detailed botanical description of a new and distinct variety of Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus known as ‘Beaufort’. The observations below are from mature plants grown in test plots at a standard commercial spacing of 4′ between plants in rows and 10′ between rows, at Castle Hayne, N.C. Those skilled in the art of cultivar description and evaluation will appreciate that certain characteristics of a variety will vary with older or, conversely, with younger plants. ‘Beaufort’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. Where dimensions, sizes, colors and other characteristics are given, it is to be understood that such characteristics are approximations or averages set forth as accurately as practicable. The phenotype of the variety may differ from the descriptions herein with variations in the environment such as season, temperature, light intensity, day length and cultural conditions. Color notations are based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, The Royal Horticultural Society, London, UK, 1995 edition.

For botanical description purposes, ‘Beaufort’ was compared to the very early ripening fresh market mechanical harvest adapted cultivar ‘Reveille’ (unpatented) and to three recent fresh market mechanical harvest adapted cultivars, ‘Carteret’ (plant patent applied for), ‘Lenoir’ (unpatented) and ‘Pamlico’ (unpatented). The botanical descriptive data presented are averages of data collected from mature nine year old plants growing in a replicated trial at the Castle Hayne Research Station, Castle Hayne, N.C., in 2005. The exception to using average values was with seed numbers where these were determined from a representative fruit of each cultivar.

-   Plant:     -   -   Dimensions.—Beaufort — 1.4 m height, 1.1 m diameter, H/D             ratio 1.27. Reveille — 1.4 m height, 1.2 m diameter, H/D             ratio 1.17. Pamlico — 1.3 m height, 1.2 m diameter, H/D             ratio 1.08. Lenoir — 1.4 m height, 1.2 m diameter, H/D ratio             1.17. Carteret — 1.4 m height, 1.1 m diameter, H/D ratio             1.27.         -   Growth habit.—Upright for Beaufort (FIG. 1), Reveille,             Lenoir and Carteret. Semi-upright for Pamlico.         -   Vigor.—Very good for Beaufort, Reveille and Carteret Good             for Pamlico and Lenoir.         -   Mature cane diameter.—Beaufort — 3.2 cm Reveille — 4.4 cm             Pamlico — 3.1 cm Lenoir — 4.2 cm Carteret — 4.4 cm.         -   Mature cane length.—Beaufort — 1.1 m Reveille — 1.1 m             Pamlico — 1.0 m Lenoir — 1.1 m Carteret — 1.1 m.         -   Internode length on first flush growth.—Beaufort — 10.0 cm             Reveille — 7.5 cm Pamlico — 8.0 cm Lenoir — 9.0 cm Carteret             — 13.0 cm.         -   Number of renewal stems.—Beaufort — 1.0 Reveille — 0.5             Pamlico — 2.0 Lenoir — 2.0 Carteret — 1.0.         -   Dormant mature stem color.—Gray-brown (RHS 199C) for             Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico and Carteret. Gray-brown (RHS             199C-199D) for Lenoir.         -   Dormant one year stem color.—Beaufort — red (RHS 46A) on the             exposed surface, yellow-orange (RHS 22A) on the unexposed             surface. Reveille — red (RHS 46A) on all surfaces. Pamlico —             red (RHS 46B) on the exposed surface, yellow-green (RHS             146C) on the unexposed surface. Lenoir — red (RHS 46A) on             the exposed surface, yellow-green (RHS 146C-147C) on the             unexposed surface. Carteret — red (RHS 46A) on all surfaces.         -   First flush growth stem color in summer.—Beaufort —             yellow-green (RHS 145B) Reveille — green (RHS 138C) Pamlico             — yellow-green (RHS 145B) Lenoir — yellow-green (RHS 147C)             Carteret — yellow-green (RHS 145A).         -   Pubescence on summer and one year dormant stems.—No stem             pubescence on Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico, Lenoir, or             Carteret. -   Leaves:     -   -   Leaf blade dimensions.—Beaufort — length 66 mm, width 29 mm,             L/W ratio 2.28. Reveille — length 44 mm, width 20 mm, L/W             ratio 2.20. Pamlico — length 60 mm, width 22 mm, L/W ratio             2.73. Lenoir — length 61 mm, width 33 mm, L/W ratio 1.85.             Carteret — length 61 mm, Width 35 mm, L/W ratio 1.74.         -   Leaf petiole length.—Beaufort — 4 mm Reveille — 2 mm Pamlico             — 4 mm Lenoir — 3 mm Carteret — 4 mm.         -   Leaf shape.—Beaufort — narrowly elliptic. Reveille —             narrowly elliptic to narrowly elliptic-obovate. Pamlico —             narrowly elliptic. Lenoir — elliptic to elliptic obovate.             Carteret — elliptic-obovate to elliptic.         -   Leaf apex angle.—Acute for Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico and             Carteret. Acuminate for Lenoir.         -   Leaf base angle.—Acute for Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico,             Lenoir and Carteret.         -   Leaf margin.—Entire for Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico and             Lenoir. Mainly entire, but with occasional irregular             serrulations for Carteret.         -   Leaf pubescence.—None for Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico,             Lenoir and Carteret.         -   Leaf glands.—None for Beaufort, Reveille, Pamlico, Lenoir             and Carteret.         -   Leaf color.—The adaxial surface color is green (RHS 139A)             and the abaxial color green (RHS 138C) for Beaufort and             Reveille. The adaxial leaf surface color is green (RHS             137A-137B) and the abaxial surface color also green (RHS             138B) for Carteret and Pamlico. The adaxial surface color is             green (RHS 137A) and the abaxial color green (RHS 138B) for             Lenoir. -   Flowers:     -   -   Number of petals.—Five, fused into a corolla tube.         -   Number of flowers per inflorescence.—Beaufort — 3.0 Reveille             — 4.0 Pamlico — 4.0 Lenoir — 5.0 Carteret — 5.5.         -   Flower dimensions.—Beaufort, Pamlico, Lenoir and Carteret —             length 9.0 mm, diameter 5.0 mm, L/D ratio 1.8. Reveille —             length 9.0 mm, diameter 7.0 mm, L/D ratio 1.3.         -   Length of the single style.—Beaufort and Carteret — 8.0 mm             Reveille, Pamlico and Lenoir — 9.0 mm.         -   Flower shape.—Beaufort, Pamlico, Lenoir and Carteret —             cylindro-urceolate Reveille — urceolate.         -   Flower color.—Beaufort — white (RHS 155D) just prior to             opening and on fully open flowers. Carteret — red-purple             (RHS 73C) on the fused petal lobes just prior to opening,             fading to all white (RHS 155D) on fully open flowers.             Reveille — red-purple (RHS 63B) on the exposed side and all             lobes of the flowers just prior to opening, fading to all             white (RHS 155B) on fully open flowers. Pamlico — red-purple             (RHS 62D) on the basal half of the flowers just prior to             opening, fading to all white (RHS 155D) on fully open             flowers. Lenoir — red-purple (RHS 62C) on the basal half of             flowers just prior to opening, fading to all white (RHS             155C) on fully open flowers. -   Fruit:     -   -   Fruit dimensions.—Beaufort — length 13 mm, diameter 16 mm,             L/D ratio 0.81. Reveille — length 15 mm, diameter 16 mm, L/D             ratio 0.94. Pamlico — length 13 mm, diameter 15 mm, L/D             ratio 0.87. Lenoir — length 12 mm, diameter 17 mm, L/D ratio             0.71. Carteret — length 15 mm, diameter 18 mm, L/D ratio             0.83.         -   Fruit shape.—Beaufort — round-oblate Reveille — round             Pamlico — round-oblate Lenoir — oblate Carteret —             round-oblate.         -   Fruit pedicel length.—Beaufort — 7 mm Reveille — 4 mm             Pamlico — 6 mm Lenoir — 8 mm Carteret — 4 mm.         -   Fruit picking scar.—Beaufort — 1.5 mm diameter, dry Reveille             — 1.0 mm diameter, dry Pamlico — 1.0 mm diameter, dry Lenoir             — 2.0 mm diameter, dry Carteret — 1.0 mm diameter, dry.         -   Fruit calyx orientation and prominence.—Appressed against             the apical end of the fruit and not prominent for Beaufort,             Reveille and Lenoir. Perpendicular (protruding) and             prominent for Carteret and Pamlico.         -   Fruit color with bloom (epicuticular wax).—Beaufort —             violet-blue (RHS 97C) (FIG. 2) Reveille — violet-blue (RHS             97B-97C)) Pamlico — violet-blue (RHS 97D) Lenoir —             violet-blue (RHS 97B) Carteret — violet-blue (RHS 97C).         -   Fruit color without bloom.—Black (RHS 202A) for Beaufort,             Reveille, Pamlico, Lenoir and Carteret. -   Seeds:     -   -   Number of fully developed seeds per berry.—Beaufort — 44             Reveille — 36 Pamlico — 29 Lenoir — 22 Carteret — 32.         -   Seed dimensions.—Beaufort — length 1.25 mm, width 1.00 mm,             L/W ratio 1.2. Reveille — length 1.25 mm, width 1.00 mm, L/W             ratio 1.2. Pamlico — length 1.50 mm, width 1.00 mm, L/W             ratio 1.5. Lenoir — length 1.50 mm, width 0.75 mm, L/W ratio             2.0. Carteret — length 1.50 mm, width 1.00 mm, L/W ratio             1.5.         -   Seed shape.—Basically depressed-ovate for Beaufort,             Reveille, Pamlico, Lenoir and Carteret. The technical             (pomological) descriptive data comparing ‘Beaufort’ to             ‘Reveille’, ‘Pamlico’, ‘Lenoir’ and ‘Carteret’ at Castle             Hayne, N.C., is presented in Tables 2-7, except for time of             flowering, where the data was more representative from             Jackson Springs, N.C., in 1992 (Table 1).

Time of flowering: Beaufort was identical to Carteret, Reveille and Pamlico for date of first bloom, and very similar to Reveille and Lenoir for 50% bloom date (Table 1). It was 11 days earlier than Lenoir for date of first bloom. It was later than Carteret and Pamlico for 50% bloom date. TABLE 1 Time of flowering of blueberry cultivars at Jackson Springs, NC, in 1992. Cultivar Date of first bloom Date of 50% bloom Carteret 3/12 4/1 Reveille 3/12 4/9 Pamlico 3/12 4/3 Lenoir 3/23  4/11 Beaufort 3/12  4/10

-   Pollination requirements: The flowers of Beaufort are not     self-fertile and require cross-pollination to set commercial crops     of fruit. The varieties Blue Ridge (unpatented) and Pender     (unpatented) have been identified as being suitable pollinators for     Beaufort. -   Pollen production: Beaufort flowers produce abundant pollen.

Season of ripening: With regard to ripening season, Beaufort ripens in late midseason, following Pamlico, Carteret and Lenoir (Table 2), therefore it completes a series of fresh market mechanical harvest adapted blueberry varieties developed by North Carolina State University that range from very early ripening (Reveille), early (Craven), early to early midseason (Pamlico), early midseason (Carteret), early midseason to midseason (Lenoir) and late midseason (Beaufort). TABLE 2 Season of ripening for blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC. Cumulative percent ripe by June eighth¹ Cultivar 1999 2000 2001 Average Carteret 38 74 43 52 Reveille 79 100 91 90 Pamlico 38 74 43 52 Lenoir 38 70 43 50 Beaufort 29 55 33 39 ¹Percent ripe after the first two weeks of the season.

Yield per plant: Yield of Beaufort was equal to all varieties except Carteret in 1999 and 2001 (Table 3). Average yield across all three years was higher than Reveille. TABLE 3 Yield of blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC. Yield (lbs./plant)¹ Cultivar 1999 2000² 2001 Average Carteret 14.0a 3.3bc 14.3a 10.5 Reveille  5.9cd 2.4c  8.8c 5.7 Pamlico  7.7bcd 4.6a 11.6ab 8.0 Lenoir  5.9cd 4.4ab 12.5ab 7.6 Beaufort  8.6bc 3.3bc 10.8bc 7.5 ¹Values not followed by the same letter(s) are significantly different at the 0.05 level (Duncan's Multiple Range Test). ²Yield adversely affected by harvest method (catch frames and rubber hoses).

Fruit size (weight per berry): There were few differences between Beaufort and the other four varieties for fruit size (Table 4). This is not surprising since all were originally selected for adaptation to mechanical harvest for the fresh market, which dictates that the fruit size be modest to minimize damage to the fruit during the harvesting process. TABLE 4 Fruit size of blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC. Fruit size (weight per berry in grams)¹ Cultivar 1999 2000 2001 Average Carteret 1.22 1.30 1.15abc 1.22 Reveille 1.31 1.27 1.14abc 1.24 Pamlico 1.27 1.25 0.96cd 1.16 Lenoir 1.34 1.22 1.12bc 1.23 Beaufort 1.26 1.27 1.10bcd 1.21 ¹Values not followed by the same letter(s) are significantly different at the 0.05 level (Duncan's Multiple Range Test).

Fruit color: In addition to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, fruit color was also determined objectively with a Minolta Color Meter (Table 5), and these data indicated that Beaufort was at least equal to all varieties with which it was compared except Pamlico. Beaufort fruit color was superior to Lenoir in this comparison. TABLE 5 Fruit color and fruit firmness of blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC. Color^(1,2) Firmness^(1,3) Cultivar 2001 1999 2001 Carteret 18.1cd 118c 144d Reveille 20.2abc 173a 216a Pamlico 22.6a 124c 172c Lenoir 14.1d 124c 176bc Beaufort 18.8bc 142b 190b ¹Values not followed by the same letter(s) are significantly different at the 0.05 level (Duncan's Multiple Range Test). ²Color (lightness or “L” values) determined objectively by a Minolta Color Meter. Higher values indicate lighter blue color. ³Fruit firmness determined objectively using a Firm-tech Firmness Tester.

-   Fruit firmness: Fruit firmness determined by a Firm-tech Firmness     Tester demonstrated that Beaufort was superior to Carteret, Pamlico     and Lenoir in 1999 (Table 5). It was equal to Lenoir and superior to     Carteret and Pamlico in 2001. It was not as firm as the very firm     variety Reveille in either year. Beaufort fruit definitely is     sufficiently firm to deem this variety adapted to mechanical harvest     for the fresh market.

Fruit flavor: Subjective ratings for flavor indicated that Beaufort consistently scored in the superior to very good range (Table 6), and fruit quality is definitely one of this variety's strong points. TABLE 6 Fruit flavor of blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC. Flavor^(1,2) Cultivar 1999 2000 2001 Carteret 79a 72f 78bc Reveille 80a 79a 80a Pamlico 76b 74e 79ab Lenoir 75b 76bcd 79ab Beaufort 80a 78ab 79ab ¹Values not followed by the same letter(s) are significantly different at the 0.05 level (Duncan's Multiple Range Test). ²Subjective ratings based on a 0-90 scale, where less than 60 is unsatisfactory, 60-69 is satisfactory, 70-79 is average to good, and 80 and above superior.

Post harvest shelf-life: Post harvest shelf-life of fruit is not one of the strongest characteristics of Beaufort (Table 7). However, after 50° F. storage for seven days the percent marketable fruit was only 10% less than Carteret, so it was acceptable. The prevailing higher temperatures during the ripening season for Beaufort (late midseason) probably contribute significantly to reduced shelf-life potential. TABLE 7 Post harvest shelf-life of the fruit of blueberry cultivars at Castle Hayne, NC, in 2001. Percent marketable fruit after seven days¹ Cultivar 50° F. 70° F. Carteret 62b 44a Reveille 81a 48a Pamlico 77a 38a Lenoir 83a 44a Beaufort 52c  8b ¹Values not followed by the same letter(s) are significantly different at the 0.05 level (Duncan's Multiple Range Test).

-   Propagation: Beaufort is easily propagated asexually by both     hardwood and softwood stem cuttings. -   Disease reaction: Beaufort has not had any problems with either of     the two major diseases affecting blueberries in North Carolina, stem     canker (Botryosphaeria corticis) and stem blight (Botryospheria     dothidea). -   Herbarium voucher: A voucher of Beaufort will be deposited in the     Herbarium of North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh,     N.C., USA upon patenting. 

1. A new and distinct variety of commercial blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus) substantially as illustrated and described, characterized by its late midseason ripening, high yields, good picking scar, very good fruit quality, color and firmness, small to medium fruit size, and adaptation to mechanical harvest for fresh fruit market outlets. 